State's gun rule trumps local laws

Local firearms regulations suffered a crippling, possibly fatal blow yesterday when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled for the second time that a more-permissive state law trumps local restrictions.

In a 5-2 ruling, the state's top court struck down Cleveland's assault-weapons ban and registration requirement for handguns.

Local firearms regulations suffered a crippling, possibly fatal blow yesterday when the Ohio Supreme Court ruled for the second time that a more-permissive state law trumps local restrictions.

In a 5-2 ruling, the state's top court struck down Cleveland's assault-weapons ban and registration requirement for handguns.

It was the second time the Supreme Court upheld the 2006 state law that wiped out dozens of local gun laws - such as assault-weapons bans, restrictions on firearms at public parks, waiting periods and trigger-lock requirements - in favor of a uniform statewide law.

In 2008, justices ruled 4-3 that the statewide law took precedence over a ban on guns in city parks in Clyde, a northern Ohio town. In that ruling, the majority of justices said the statewide law trumps all local gun ordinances, but Cleveland continued to press its case.

Cleveland officials argued that their law should stand because the state Constitution grants cities broad home-rule powers.

Yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected that argument.

"The General Assembly indicated that its intent in enacting (the statewide law) was 'to provide uniform laws throughout the state' for firearm ownership and possession," Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton wrote for the majority. "We reaffirm the holding that (the law in question) is part of a statewide comprehensive legislative enactment."

In 2006, the Ohio House voted 71-21 to override a veto by then-Gov. Bob Taft of the statewide regulations.

Firearms groups cheered the statewide law, saying gun owners shouldn't be penalized by a patchwork of laws from city to city. The same groups hailed yesterday's Supreme Court ruling.

"My right to self-defense, just like my right to attend church or write an op-ed in the local newspaper or be protected from illegal search and seizure, is the same in Delaware County as it is in Columbus or Cleveland," said Ken Hanson, legislative chair of the Buckeye Firearms Association.

Chief Justice Eric Brown and Justice Paul E. Pfeifer dissented from the ruling, saying the state law tramples home-rule authority.

Representatives of Cleveland and Columbus - which never enforced its assault-weapons ban - expressed disappointment with the decision.

"The impact is that municipalities can no longer take reasonable action to protect their citizens from the unique impact of gun violence in an urban environment, notwithstanding the numerous acts of gun violence throughout the state in the almost five years since the legislature passed a 'comprehensive' gun safety law in the state," Cleveland Law Director Robert Triozzi said in a statement.

Dan Williamson, spokesman for Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman, said the Supreme Court ruling highlights the need for lawmakers to revisit the 2006 law to permit more flexibility.

"(Coleman) understands that rural communities have different needs and different circumstances," Williamson said.

jnash@dispatch.com

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